Goodbye 1

He would say something like, 'Iya,ma'am. Blum makan nih.', or 'Ah,ma'am aja yang jarang keliatan', or a shy face, at the least, everytime I said,'Eh,Iyan. Kemana aja? Kok baru keliatan?'.

Not yesterday afternoon....

After not seeing him since my return (about two weeks ago), it was a surprise to meet him in the 'pantry'. He was sitting on a chair, behind him is the window. I popped my head off the door before I said my 'usual greeting' to him. To my surprise, he didn't say a thing. Not even his usual body language. I said to myself, 'Well, what the heck. He's maybe tired.'

It hadn't crossed my mind moments later that I'd be taking care of his papers in the hospital.His ER cost, his hospital card, his ambulance, his death declaration.

When I arrived at the hospital earlier, the stand by doctor already announced that all medications had been given with no reaction to them at all, his pupils are wide and dark, and his heart had stopped. It was 18.15. I could still hear the doctors and nurses were still trying
with CPR, cardiac shock and I don't know what else. After making several phone calls, I realized the crowd was getting larger. About fifteen of us were there. The security guards, janitors, cleaning staff, technicians, cashier, branch secretary,AOOs, branch manager, even our director, ex branch manager and ex HR staff came to give their best of help and support.

The cracking of the bed stopped. I attentively listened behind the ER curtain. My heart sank when I heard a doctor said,' Inna lillahi wa inna ilaihi roji'un'. It's over. They pronounced his death after 45 minutes of trying.18.45

While the others were in their own grieving ways, I and the branch secretary took care of his papers, med card, medical cost and the doctors' cost. We got an ambulance to send his body home. All the paperwork were done except for one letter that we wanted his family to sign, the declaration of death.